THESE are actually random thoughts accumulated over the weekend and they’re mostly on Sen. Manny Pacquiao’s “epiphany” and retired Associate Justice Antonio Carpio’s relevance or the lack of it.
Let’s start with boxer-turned-politician Manny Pacquiao as he seems to have this belief that being President of the republic is an “act of God” and not the result of simply more people voting for the other candidate as usually is the case in an election. I’m quite confident that God has far more important things to do than taking an interest in silly politicians.
It seems Manny Pacquiao has other talents besides boxing and no it’s not playing basketball or singing. It seems he makes a lovely court jester boring people to death with his comments bordering on nonsense or stupidity.
I’ve never watched Manny Pacquiao’s fight nor have any plans to do so (I’m not into boxing. I find this human version of cockfight rather boring). Lately, though, I enjoy watching him shoot himself in the foot with his stupid statements.
Currently he is a senator, a member of the legislative branch of government and he has set his sights on being president of the republic because he believes it is an “act of God” and he is the “chosen one”. I wonder how many laws he has actually sponsored that is now law signed by the President (not him) and has benefitted the natives of this archipelago.
You know what I find funny – even more hilarious – than Manny Pacquiao shooting himself in the foot with his stupid statements? The usual suspects and “devotees to the cult of the yellow ribbon” so terribly disappointed that Duterte won’t give a publicity-desperate Carpio a free ride.
Get over it, people. You were just played by Duterte and as expected you took the bait.
And we segue to Carpio’s relevance or the lack of it and his obvious political ambitions. I suppose we can take comfort that he did not have an “epiphany” that being president of the republic is an “act of God” and he is the “chosen one”.
You see, Carpio spent most of his life in less-violent surroundings. Unlike Manny Pacquiao, he did not have his head pounded inside a boxing ring so an “epiphany” is less likely to happen to him.
Last week in one of his pre-recorded national address on television, President Duterte challenged Carpio to a debate – and as of this time is still waiting to happen so most of the random thoughts are based on that “debate challenge”.
Carpio is politically irrelevant or just irrelevant for that matter and desperate for any publicity, so he grabbed this opportunity for free publicity without thinking Duterte’s just baiting him.
Maybe it’s just the journalist in me to see some details people usually overlook, but if you noticed, the challenge of President Duterte to Carpio was done in a pre-recorded televised national address, meaning it was not a spur of the moment live challenge. Rather, it was a crafted taunt.
Without thinking twice if this was trap, with much ado Carpio immediately accepted the challenged only to learn that presidential spokesman Harry Roque, himself a lawyer, was assigned by the President to face Carpio instead in the debate.
The reasoning for this is quite simple: it is not proper for the President of the republic to debate with ordinary lawyers below his stature as head of state.
And the President rained on Carpio’s vision of a nationally televised debate with the President. Free publicity indeed gone sour.
When Carpio announced that he accepted the challenge, he also set his condition which is for the President to resign. Really, how utterly stupid. It’s a debate. And why will the President resign?
The usual suspects, i.e. “devotees to the cult of the yellow ribbon”, know they can NEVER win an election again, so what do they do? They demand the incumbent to resign, meaning Carpio was just following the game plan.
So President Duterte baited and played them and as usual fell for it. Have you noticed that the only people now pulling their hair in disappointment are the usual suspects and the “devotees to the cult of the yellow ribbon”? Meanwhile the rest of the country are laughing at them.
By all means Carpio should run for president. Of course, winning it is another story.
And finally, President Fidel Ramos did not appoint him Chief Justice, so did President Arroyo. His best chance was with President Noynoy Aquino yet despite his lies and false testimony during CJ Corona’s impeachment he was still not appointed. The best he got was acting CJ under President Duterte that is until just recently, self-appointed “de jure President of the Philippines” Ely Pamatong appointed via a post on Facebook Antonio Carpio as Chief Justice.
Congratulations! He fully deserves the honor! (brotherlouie16@gmail.com)/PN
